Spirit of America -- The good guys rock!

[LUVMBDiesels]

Here is an article from SprirtofAmerica.net. It shows how simple things can make such a difference in lives....


How Baseball Helped Children and Saved Lives in Afghanistan

The Story That Inspired Spirit of America


Baseball in Afghanistan

ORGUN-E, AFGHANISTAN – Orgun-e is a remote village in eastern Afghanistan about 20 miles from Pakistan. After Special Forces Sergeant Jay Smith and his team built a schoolhouse for the village, his wife, Dianna, sent him baseball gloves and balls for two boys helping in the troops’ kitchen. The boys were so excited that Smith called to ask her to send more gloves, balls and bats so they could form teams and play real games. Through friends, co-workers and family, Diana raised the money for the gear, then sent it to Jay.

Baseball in AfghanistanWithin a few weeks, the village children had a league with two teams and were playing baseball regularly. The village’s quality of life, and its perception of the troops and America, improved. Sergeant Smith met a small need but made a big impact. The Special Forces efforts weren’t limited to baseball. The soldiers distributed a range of other items, including school supplies and toys, to the villagers.
Saving Lives
Through baseball, school supplies and a genuine desire to help the people of Orgun-e, the American troops built close and positive relations with the villagers. Later, one night the soldiers suffered a rocket attack from Al Qaeda that snuck into the village from Pakistan. In response, the people of Orgun-e formed a “community watch.” Every night they patrolled the village area to protect the American soldiers. The rocket attacks stopped. Sergeant Smith says, “Once they saw we had a true blue interest in them, they joined with us. The things we did to help people in Orgun-e literally saved lives. Theirs and ours.”

Baseball scoreboard in Afghanistan

Grass Roots, Private Initiative
No one told the Special Forces soldiers to undertake these activities. They saw the need, and opportunity, to help people in Orgun-e. And, they did something about it. Even coaching baseball was done on their own time. Likewise, American citizens responded to the requests from the troops – raising money, buying needed goods and sending them half way around the world.

SFC Jay SmithSpirit of America
Spirit of America’s priority is to increase the scale and impact of activities - like those of the Special Forces in Orgun-e - that are already being undertaken by Americans serving in post-conflict areas. Though Sergeant Smith's baseball project was successfully completed and does not require our funding, we have many active projects to support American personnel assisting people in need.

[Medmech]

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

Here is an article from SprirtofAmerica.net. It shows how simple things can make such a difference in lives....


How Baseball Helped Children and Saved Lives in Afghanistan

The Story That Inspired Spirit of America


Baseball in Afghanistan

ORGUN-E, AFGHANISTAN – Orgun-e is a remote village in eastern Afghanistan about 20 miles from Pakistan. After Special Forces Sergeant Jay Smith and his team built a schoolhouse for the village, his wife, Dianna, sent him baseball gloves and balls for two boys helping in the troops’ kitchen. The boys were so excited that Smith called to ask her to send more gloves, balls and bats so they could form teams and play real games. Through friends, co-workers and family, Diana raised the money for the gear, then sent it to Jay.

Baseball in AfghanistanWithin a few weeks, the village children had a league with two teams and were playing baseball regularly. The village’s quality of life, and its perception of the troops and America, improved. Sergeant Smith met a small need but made a big impact. The Special Forces efforts weren’t limited to baseball. The soldiers distributed a range of other items, including school supplies and toys, to the villagers.
Saving Lives
Through baseball, school supplies and a genuine desire to help the people of Orgun-e, the American troops built close and positive relations with the villagers. Later, one night the soldiers suffered a rocket attack from Al Qaeda that snuck into the village from Pakistan. In response, the people of Orgun-e formed a “community watch.” Every night they patrolled the village area to protect the American soldiers. The rocket attacks stopped. Sergeant Smith says, “Once they saw we had a true blue interest in them, they joined with us. The things we did to help people in Orgun-e literally saved lives. Theirs and ours.”

Baseball scoreboard in Afghanistan

Grass Roots, Private Initiative
No one told the Special Forces soldiers to undertake these activities. They saw the need, and opportunity, to help people in Orgun-e. And, they did something about it. Even coaching baseball was done on their own time. Likewise, American citizens responded to the requests from the troops – raising money, buying needed goods and sending them half way around the world.

SFC Jay SmithSpirit of America
Spirit of America’s priority is to increase the scale and impact of activities - like those of the Special Forces in Orgun-e - that are already being undertaken by Americans serving in post-conflict areas. Though Sergeant Smith's baseball project was successfully completed and does not require our funding, we have many active projects to support American personnel assisting people in need.

Do you have the link to that? I know that guy!

[Medmech]

Never mind...found it.

What a hoot. in a good way!

[LUVMBDiesels]

Everybody who can should donate to this cause. It is well worth it

http://www.spiritofamerica.net/site

I just joined and donated some moola to them

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by Howitzer

Never mind...found it.

What a hoot. in a good way!

hey Howie, wait til some regular army jerk at the Pentagon sees that guy's whiskers and doo.

B

[LUVMBDiesels]

bump...
Come on guys, its a worthy cause...

[LUVMBDiesels]

bumpo

[Obnoxio]

Originally Posted by Botnst

hey Howie, wait til some regular army jerk at the Pentagon sees that guy's whiskers and doo.

B

The SF guys in Afghanistan are encouraged to grow beards while they are working closely with Afghan people. Regular Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are not though. Google Dan Healey or Mike Murphy for some pics of the beards they grew over there.

Back on topic, thats a great cause and my wife and I will be donating some moneys as well.

[A264172]

A kids baseball game is a great thing, for the kids, their parents, and the community.

[LUVMBDiesels]

Oct, 3rd update

Greetings Friends and Supporters!
We've got wonderful pictures from all "our" countries!
*Afghan Farmers-Sergeant Major and the value of "good deeds"
*Captain Matthews helps Djibouti Schools experience memorable opening day
*Chief Petty Officer Ploeger delivers supplies to Afghanistan children
*Captain Holloway's first 1,000 backpacks already on their way to Iraq!
SGM REPORTS "MASS OF SUPPLIES" RECEIVED IN AFGHANISTAN
The saffron bulbs, clothing, toys and school supplies that have shipped for SoA's Army Request to Aid Afghan Farmers project have arrived!

Celebrating the arrival of 40,000 saffron bulbs!

Email excerpts from SGM Sept 10th:
"Yesterday the shipment of 40,000 saffron bulbs arrived at our current location.
It is truly a marvel to look at the mass of contributions. It puts a lump in my throat just to think of how much it will mean to the Afghan people. We are currently in a prime farming area that is feeling a strong Taliban under-current, so your timing with this type of aid was absolutely perfect.
Thank you so much for enabling us. We are truly thankful for the ability to make a positive influence on those who need it the most. Words can't express how much your efforts mean to us. May God bless you all."
Email excerpts from SGM dated Sept 26th.
"It has always been so easy to talk of all that is wrong with Afghanistan. You are now making it easy to start talking of what is going right in Afghanistan. I don't know if you can ever appreciate how awful things have been for the innocents here. They live completely terribly. And yet, they are still good people. They are just the kind of good people who deserve your generous offerings more than any others I have ever met. If you have ever doubted the value of good deeds you have done in the past, know now that you have placed your kindness with those who truly need it desperately.
I thank God to know such truly good and selfless people as yourselves.
May God bless you all."
His thanks are really meant for you, we are just the "messengers" of the goodwill of so many generous Americans. Out of $51,000 raised for our Afghan Farmers Project, we have now spent $45,000! More updates will be coming when the tools arrive, which should be any day now.
CAPTAIN TIM MATTHEWS DISTRIBUTES SUPPLIES IN DJIBOUTI
In July we posted a request from Marine Reservist (and history teacher) Captain Tim Matthews asking for assistance in providing school supplies. Thanks to your donations to our outreach efforts in the Horn of Africa, SoA was able to quickly send over 1,000 school backpacks filled with supplies which arrived just in time for the opening of the new school buildings built by the Army.
Here's a recent message from Captain Matthews:
"Yes, the school supplies have started to come in! We received 275 backpacks, 504 packs of filler paper and 336 pencil boxes. My mail clerk says there is more coming so I don't have a final count yet.
The timing has been perfect. My replacement, Captain Chris Crim, has arrived and we were able to start distributing the supplies during the first week of school. It provided us with a great outreach opportunity, the students were excited and the teachers were extremely appreciative.
As a teacher myself, it made me miss the beginning of school back in the states - but your generosity really makes a difference here. The Marines here continue to work with the local village schools. We finished building the library in Douda and a middle school from the states sent some books. We painted the primary school in Douda and we are scheduled to paint another school this month. I will write more tomorrow. I have included some of the initial pictures from our distribution in Nagat."

Posing with students in Djibouti who received school supplies sent by SoA
We'll wait anxiously for the next set of pictures and continue to post updates on our Horn of Africa Projects as they become available.
CHIEF PETTY OFFICER PLOEGER WITH CJTF PHOENIX TAG VI TEAM
Chief Petty Officer Michael Ploeger serving with the Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, Training Assistance Group 6 (CJTF Phoenix, TAG VI) has continued the work started by Sergeant Don Weber to deliver school supplies to the children of Afghanistan. Spirit of America provided 2,000 school backpacks with supplies at the request of Sgt. Weber but he rotated out of the country before being able to distribute all of them. Fortunately, CPO Ploeger was able to access and make several deliveries of the remaining supplies during his current tour near Kabul, Afghanistan.

A wonderful collage of the distribution to a local school
Excerpts from an earlier TAG newsletter, written by our contact, CPO Michael Ploeger.
"The headmaster of the school greets us as we arrive. Pleased to see us and grateful for the help. We start to unload the truck and distribute the backpacks. The excitement on the children's faces is priceless. The school has two sessions; the younger children attend three hours in the morning and the older children attend the next three hours.
We finish going from class to class giving out the backpacks. The students are dismissed for the day, as they leave they smile and give us the thumbs up, some know enough English to say thank you. The next session arrives just as excited they rush into their classrooms eager to get their backpacks. We finish the distribution, it has taken us about three hours total, we even had enough to leave extra's for those students that were absent.
This part of the mission is complete; we prepare for the convoy back, we now have to become soldiers, weapons loaded, very alert. We return to Camp. The whole mission goes without incident. Everyone involved has a tremendous feeling of fulfillment."
Quick note to all who donated, LTC Holloway's Project requesting school supplies on Sept 19 (only 2 weeks ago!) has raised over $9,000. The purchase order for 1,000 backpacks with supplies was signed yesterday, so they will literally be on their way by Friday. How's that for a quick turnaround! We hope to send more backpacks with supplies as additional money is raised.
Thanks everyone! We wish we could thank each and every one of you personally, but we're 11,000 strong now and that would be quite impossible! We'll be back in a couple of weeks to keep you informed of the latest and hopefully the greatest!
All the best,
Spirit of America
www.spiritofamerica.net

[LUVMBDiesels]

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